Related papers: Improved Neutron-Capture Element Abundances in Pla…

It is already known that about 10% of central stars of PNe are very short-period binaries (hours to days), which are detected through photometric variations. These must have been formed through common-envelope interactions in initially wide…

Wolf-Rayet ([WR]) and weak emission-line ($wels$) central stars of planetary nebulae (PNe) have hydrogen-deficient atmospheres, whose origins are not well understood. In the present study, we have conducted plasma diagnostics and abundance…

During the past 20 years, the idea that non-spherical planetary nebulae (PN) may need a binary or planetary interaction to be shaped was discussed by various authors. It is now generally agreed that the varied morphologies of PN cannot be…

Mid-IR observations of planetary nebulae (PNe) have revealed diffuse emission associated to their main nebular shells and outer envelopes or haloes. The interpretation of this emission is uncertain because the broad-band mid-IR images may…

A hot central star illuminating the surrounding ionized H II region usually produces very rich atomic spectra resulting from basic atomic processes: photoionization, electron-ion recombination, bound-bound radiative transitions, and…

We present a state-of-the-art analysis technique able to simultaneously reproduce the entire H and He spectra of OB-type stars in the visual and the near-IR and to derive highly accurate metal abundances (so far C and N). The spectrum…

We have obtained deep spectra of 26 planetary nebulae (PNe) and 9 compact HII regions in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 300, and analyzed them together with those of the giant HII regions previously observed. We have determined the physical…

Following the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP) observation, we have studied the chemical composition of the hot plasma in a sample of 146 X-ray bright pre-main sequence stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We report measurements of…

Near-infrared photometry of planetary nebulae (PNe) allows the classification of those objects. We present the largest homogeneous sample so far, obtained with the Deep Near Infrared Southern Sky Survey (DENIS).

We present a new modeling tool for planetary nebulae, based on 3D photoionization calculations. Our goal is to show that all the information provided by observations, regarding kinematics and morphology, have to be consistently accounted…

Photoionized nebulae comprise basically HII regions and planetary nebulae, and their abundances give important clues on the nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of their host galaxies. There is presently a large amount of data on these…

Planetary nebulae (PNe) represent the near endpoints of evolution for stars of initial mass $\sim$1-8 $M_\odot$, wherein the envelope of an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star becomes photodissociated and ionized by high-energy radiation…

A novel method is presented which will enhance the sensitivity of neutrino telescopes to identify transient sources such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and core-collapse Supernovae (SNe). Triggered by the detection of high energy neutrino…

We report results of an HST "snapshot" survey aimed at finding resolved binary companions of the central stars of Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe). Using WF/PC and WFPC2, we searched the fields of 113 PNe for stars whose close proximity to…

We present a homogeneous set of spectroscopic measurements secured with 4-meter class telescopes for a sample of 90 planetary nebulae (PNe) located in the direction of the Galactic bulge. We derive their plasma parameters and chemical…

We present deep optical spectra of the archetypal young planetary nebula (PN) NGC 7027, covering a wavelength range from 3310 to 9160 A. The observations were carried out by uniformly scanning a long slit across the entire nebular surface,…

We present the Gallery of Planetary Nebula Spectra now available at http://oit.williams.edu/nebulae The website offers high-quality, moderate resolution (~7-10 A FWHM) spectra of 128 Galactic planetary nebulae from 3600-9600 A, obtained by…

Ground- and space-based observations of stellar heavy element abundances are providing a clearer picture of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. A large number of (r)apid and (s)low neutron capture process elements, including the first…

In this tutorial it is explained the procedure to analyze an optical emission-line spectrum produced by a nebula ionized by massive star formation. Particularly, it is described the methodology used to derive physical properties, such as…

Spectroscopic observations of 48 emission-line objects of M33 have been obtained with the multi-object, wide field, fibre spectrograph AF2/WYFFOS at the 4.2m WHT telescope (La Palma, Spain). Line intensities and logarithmic extinction,…